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Kinect-Like Open-Source Devices For the PC

01-10-2011, 11:50 AM

Phoronix: Kinect-Like Open-Source Devices For the PC

While the free software community was successful in coming up with open-source support for Microsoft's Kinect motion sensing device, there is better support on the way. PrimeSense, the Israeli company that developed this technology, is now putting their hardware into new devices. However, it will not be up to the community to come up with open-source drivers, but the company will be providing the support themselves...

That's good news. The potential for such device is awesome.
Think of "Minority Report" type of applications (Compiz on steroids), or accessibility apps for the handicapped, or 3D environment reconstruction, etc.
Now the question is, where can I buy one?

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The truth of the matter is that the Kinect is pretty much using the same SoC that the "PC" versions are currently using- and most of the magic of the tech is in that SoC. All this means is we get an extensive API to drive it or any other device like it, knowing more about the data stream than we did before.

As for flopping...it remains to be seen. The Kinect isn't doing that right at the moment and as long as it doesn't flop, neither will anything else associated with it. My only bar from buying one of the things right now is that it'd put more money in Microsoft's bank account at the end of the day- which would be used against me in the medium term.

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Someone once wrote something on the topic of Kinect which was funny and fascinating to me at the same time. I still think of it every time the subject is brought up.

He wrote that if the device could ever be used to switch channels on the tv we where in the awkward position Zaphod Beeblebrox was in, in the book "The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy". Zaphods Television would change channels if he moved his head slightly to the left or right.

Funny, that something as bizarre as that writers imagination is now close to reality...

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Well, that's a very interesting thing for FOSS Linux users , but I think the driver/hardware development of kinectic-alike devices will go mainly to Winblows... .
Of course, I think we don't have to worry about it because we already have OpenKinect to work with Kinectic-alike devices...

Cheers

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What is the size of this system, can you put it in a smartphone some tablet computer? If so it would be pretty nice to use it to record fingers typing as on a keyboard or moving the hand like a mouse for these inputless devices.

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Funny I know a guy that has one of those built into his head... it works well too! Even from rather low viewing angles... thankfully I don't think he can identify keys by thier sound quite yet... but I wouldn't put that totally out of the picture.